Rare Ist Edition Of 'The Hunting of the Snark', Publication Date 29 March 1876, Subtitled An Agony, in Eight Fits By Lewis Carroll.

The Hunting of the Snark, subtitled An Agony, in Eight Fits, is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight portmanteau words from Carroll's earlier poem "Jabberwocky" in his children's novel Through the Looking-Glass (1871).

Macmillan published The Hunting of the Snark in the United Kingdom at the end of March 1876, with nine illustrations by Henry Holiday. It had mixed reviews from reviewers, who found it strange. The first printing of the poem consisted of 10,000 copies. There were two reprints by the conclusion of the year; in total, the poem was reprinted 17 times between 1876 and 1908. The poem also has been adapted for musicals, movies, opera, plays, and music.

The narrative follows a crew of ten trying to hunt the Snark, a creature which may turn out to be a highly dangerous Boojum. The only crew member to find the Snark quietly vanishes, leading the narrator to explain that the Snark was a Boojum after all.

Carroll dedicated the poem to young Gertrude Chataway, whom he met in the English seaside town Sandown on the Isle of Wight in 1875. Included with many copies of the first edition of the poem was Carroll's religious tract, An Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves "Alice".

Various meanings in the poem have been proposed, among them existential angst, an allegory for tuberculosis, and a mockery of the Tichborne case.

While Carroll denied knowing the meaning behind the poem, he agreed in an 1897 reply to a reader's letter with an interpretation of the poem as an allegory for the pursuit of happiness.
Henry Holiday, the illustrator of the poem, considered the poem a "tragedy"

This Ist edition of Hunting of The Snark, valued at £200,000, became the central theme of an entire film episode of 'Lewis' from the cannon of works based around Inspector Morse the now world famous Oxford detective. His sergeant, Lewis, had his own Oxford based series after he was promoted to Inspector following the death of his dear friend, mentor and senior colleague of the Thames valley Police.

The Soul of Genius.
DI Lewis and DS Hathaway investigate the murder of Murray Hawes, an Oxford professor whose body was found in a shallow grave in the woods. Dawes lived in a spartan apartment but had recently made an expensive purchase: an edition of Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, annotated by the author himself, for £200,000. In fact, their investigation shows that he was fanatical on the subject of the snark and was determined to solve Carroll's intricate riddle. Where he got the money is one line of inquiry but it's clear that he and his brother, the Rev. Connor Hawes, were in dangerous competition, something they had been doing since childhood. Making life more difficult for the police is Michelle Marber whose son was found dead several years ago. Although the coroner ruled death by misadventure, she is convinced that he was killed by Dr. Alex Falconer who had some type of connection with Hawes. Falconer, a medical research scientist, denies any knowledge of Hawes. Several suspect ts have lied to the police and the motivation of one of them leads the police the to killer.

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